Fixations
by stay.traught.i'm.deactivated
Summary: Klarion needs a host to return to the earthly plane after his familiar is destroyed, and the only one pure and magical enough is Zatanna Zatara. As a spirit without its body, Zatanna is determined to get back what's hers. As the only one who can see her, Wally agrees to help Zatanna defeat Klarion and get her body back.
1. Chapter 1

**Fixations**

I figured this website NEEDS more stories with this pairing. And because I love this pairing. (but not as much as Spitfire... :3)

And yes, it is kind of based off the video game, Zelda: Spirit Tracks. No, I don't own its rights or Young Justice's rights. I do own a copy of game though. :3

* * *

**Chapter Summary:** A mission to save a bunch of kidnapped girls doesn't end well for Zatanna— unless kidnapping is somehow a good thing. Who is this Malfin demon-thingy-guy, and why does he need Zatanna? And seriously— what is up with his accent?  
**Warnings:** None, really. Unless you count the beating up of Wally.  
**Pairing(s): **None yet.

* * *

"Kid Flash, Zatanna— you go free the captives. Artemis, Robin, Superboy— you take perimeter. Miss Martian and I will be watching from the air and the bishop."

Everyone nodded at Kaldur's orders. Artemis', Robin's and Superboy's drop zone approached first. They dropped out from the bioship, landing silently before darting off to hide in the foliage around the old and abandoned lumber factory. When they hovered over the building, Kid Flash and Zatanna dropped noiselessly onto the roof. The captives were being held on the second story of the three story factory.

Kid Flash and Zatanna found a hatch that led down into the building, but it was locked.

"_Nepo,_" Zatanna whispered, causing the lock to open with a click. Kid Flash removed it and opened the hatch as quietly as he could, jumping down into hallway with Zatanna right behind him. They ran down the hallway to the stairs, footsteps barely audible— a result of their rigorous stealth training. On the second floor, a large fraction of the walls had been cleared away. A large metal cage took up a lot of the floor's space. A collection of young girls— ranging from nine to nineteen years old— were sitting in it, the older ones comforting the younger ones.

Their eyes lit up as they saw Kid Flash and Zatanna approach. The oldest one walked over to the door.

"I think there's some kind of magic on the lock," she whispered urgently, blue eyes shining with fear. "I tried to touch it, and it burned me." Zatanna nodded as she started chanting at the lock— words that no one could place or understand.

Within seconds, it was unlocked and on the ground, the cage door open.

"Kid Flash," Zatanna addressed, "Carry them up to the roof and alert Aqualad and Miss Martian." The red head nodded and gently took the two youngest in his arms. He turned around and came to face to face with a tall, impossibly pale and buff man with horns and sharp, monstrous teeth— glowering and scowling at them with pitch black eyes.

"Vell, vell, vhat do ve have here?" he asked in a thick Russian accent. "Zhis vill not be accepted by zhe master at all, no."

Kid Flash glared at the imposing man, gently placing down the young girls behind him protectively.

"Are_ you_ the one who kidnapped all these innocent girls?" he growled.

The large man only laughed— a hollow, humorless, patronizing bellow. "Is_ zhis,_" he spat, flippantly gesturing to Kid Flash, "zhe best zhe Justice League can zhrow at me? My master said zhat I might meet resistance, but zhis is _pathetic._"

Kid Flash stepped into a fighting stance. "They must not have mirrors where you come from, because then you'd see pathetic every day," he quipped as he charged at said pathetic man faster than anyone could blink. The man simply put a hand before him and Kid Flash hit an invisible wall. The man then grabbed Kid Flash by the throat.

"Pathetic," he spat. "You are no match for me, mortal, for I am Malfin, Demon of Chaos!"

"Zatanna," Kid Flash choked out. "Call... backup."

"They- they've been ambushed," she exclaimed, eyes widening as she reported the information. "By chaos spirits!"

The red head clawed desperately at the hand grasping at his throat.

Zatanna suddenly threw the heavy lock at Malfin's face, causing him to release Kid Flash, who instantly sped out of grabbing distance.

"Why are you kidnapping these girls?" Zatanna demanded, hoping to stall the demon. "What are you planning to do?"

"Zhese girls are of no use to my master anymore. I vas just about to dispose of zhem before you two _children_ intervened."

"Yea, well who's your high and mighty master, huh? Sounds like a wimp if he isn't here himself!" Kid Flash yelled.

Malfin glared at the red head. "Zhe Lord of Chaos, my master, requires a vessel to stay on zhe earthly plane."

Kid Flash and Zatanna were silent, having a psychic conversation.

_'Now?' _Kid Flash thought. Zatanna nodded.

Malfin caught the minute action and instantly became suspicious. All of a sudden, Zatanna stepped forward, yelling, "_Dlofdnilb!_"

A white cloth appeared over Malfin's eyes and he began to struggle with pulling it off. When it was off, he saw Kid Flash, Zatanna, and the girls running off in the opposite direction toward the staircase. He followed them.

When he reached them, Zatanna was on the roof, pulling the girls up as Kid Flash lifted them through. Malfin fired a bolt of dark energy at Kid Flash as he lifted the last girl up. Zatanna was able to stop it, though, with a quick yell of, "_Kcolb!_"

She jumped back down into the building to help deal with Malfin as the girls waited up on the roof.

"Quick, Zatanna— maneuver 13," Kid Flash commanded, to which the magician nodded.

She produced a bright flash of light, and before it even cleared, Kid Flash was behind Malfin, roundhouse kicking the demon in the head and delivering a strong knife hand strike to his neck and a middle punch to his spine. When Malfin whirled around to strike Kid Flash, it was Zatanna's turn.

"_Worht niflaM otni eht gniliec!_"

The demon was thrown into the ceiling with a thud and when he fell back down, Kid Flash has a boot pinning him down and Zatanna had a hand ready to cast a spell at his face.

"Not so pathetic now, are we?" Kid Flash asked smugly. Malfin didn't answer, instead turning to Zatanna.

"It is you," he muttered to himself, eyes narrowed slightly.

Kid Flash frowned. "What did you s—?"

Malfin grabbed his leg and threw him aside into the wall, causing his vision to blur and the wind to be knocked out of him— possibly even breaking a few ribs. The demon then grabbed Zatanna by the neck, hard.

"Yes, I shall use zhis pure vessel to bring back my lord," he growled triumphantly.

Zatanna was choking, but she managed one word, "_Esaeler._"

Malfin was forced to drop her and she backpedaled against the dead end of the hallway, breathing hard.

"So she von't go peacefully?" he asked with a hint of bemusement. "So be it."

Malfin summoned a giant red bolt of energy and fired it at Zatanna.

She crossed her arms in front of herself in an X shape and shrieked, "_Evas em!_" desperate to save herself. Kid Flash looked away from the blinding flash of light, and when he opened his eyes again, he saw Zatanna lying— either dead or unconscious— on the floor before Malfin slung her over his shoulder and proceeded to carry her into a red portal he summoned in the wall.

"Zatanna," he croaked weakly, reaching a hand out at the retreating demon carrying her. His hand dropped as blackness consumed him and he fell unconscious.

* * *

Tell me what you think, peoples! I need feedback like living things need freaking OXYGEN.

On a (slightly) different topic, **TEN MORE DAYS UNTIL YOUNG JUSTICE! **Anyone else on the brink of insanity/going insane/insane since hiatus was announced?


	2. Chapter 2

**Fixations**

I absolutely love all the positive feedback I'm getting from this. You guys rock! This chapter is extra long and I will try to make them at least 2,000 words each time, alright?

Follow me for news on my fanfics and/or sneak previews on tumblr!

dammityouevilsuffixes . tumblr. com

* * *

**Chapter Summary:** Wally is the only one who can see Zatanna's spirit and is roped into helping her get her body back. When she finds out exactly what her body is being used for, she is far from happy. Try scarred. For life.  
**Warnings:** Minor language  
**Pairing(s): **Slight (shameless) Traught

I don't own Young Justice.

* * *

Wally woke up in the medical bay. Robin was asleep in the armchair next to his infirmary bed, his laptop open on his lap and showing some kind of tracking and locating program. A sign in the middle glowed bright red, "NO RESULTS FOUND".

Wally looked at the infirmary clock. It was 7:48 in the morning— ten hours after they first left for their mission, meaning he had been unconscious for about eight. He slowly sat up, ribs throbbing. A hand raised up to clutch his head as he inhaled sharply through his mouth from the sudden stabs of pain all over his body. The red head gently shook his raven haired companion awake.

Robin awoke with a small jump, eyes darting to his laptop screen behind those dark shades. Although Wally couldn't see his eyes, the red head had a feeling the young boy's blue orbs were shining with disappointment.

"You're searching for her, aren't you?" Wally croaked, voice hoarse from being out so long. Robin nodded, click-clacking away on his keyboard again.

"She was kidnapped," he stated, sounding completely sure of himself. Wally nodded, confirming the statement. "By who?"

"Some freaky tall, buff demon dude with a Russian accent, horns, and claiming to work for the Lord of Chaos."

"Klarion the Witch Boy," a voice spat, and the boys looked at the doorway to find Artemis leaning against the doorframe, glaring at nothing in particular.

"What?"

"Klarion. He's the lord of chaos, isn't he?"

"Right," Robin said. "So Zee was kidnapped by a chaos lord's Russian minion. Never a simple answer... Do you know where they went, KF?"

Wally shook his head. "They left through some red portal in the wall before I blacked out."

"Probably to some remote location in the middle of nowhere," Artemis deadpanned, taking a seat next to Robin. "Maybe even the Chaos realm. Maybe that's why you can't locate her."

Robin sighed. "This is _definitely_ not concerting," he muttered, decimating prefixes again.

"Or maybe they are on earth and the baddie is hiding her location with magic," Artemis offered, trying to help.

"Or maybe he just disabled all of Zatanna's gear," Wally suggested. "_Without_ magic," he added pointedly, shooting Artemis a look that dared her to argue. She was about to, but then Robin interrupted them.

"Still nothing!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. "Zatanna just simply disappeared from my sensors!"

Artemis placed a tentative hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure she'll turn up eventually, Robin," she said reassuringly.

"She better," the raven haired boy sighed. "I've known her too long to lose her now."

"Um, didn't we all just meet her about a month ago?" Wally asked suddenly. "It ain't that long, even in speedster terms— at least for 'just knowing' someone."

"No, we met when we were younger; I was about 9," the young boy explained. "She was one of my only friends in school, and I never told her I was Robin... But anyway, after her dad moved away when we were 11, I never saw her again until now."

"We'll find her, Robin," Artemis said. "No worries. After all, you _are _the Boy Wonder, aren't you?"

Said Boy Wonder took a deep breath as if to mentally compose himself. "Of course. Maybe we should go ask Zatara if he can help us locate any suspicious chaos magic activity anywhere," he concluded, getting up and tucking his now closed laptop under his arm. Artemis stood up as well.

"I'm coming with you, Boy Wonder," she said, leaving no room for argument. They headed toward the bay doors.

"Good luck with that," Wally called out to them as they left. "I'll just be here. In the med bay. Bedridden. Bored out of my mind. Not mad that you guys abandoned me here. At all." The amount of deadpanned sarcasm in those words was almost unbearable.

"That's nice," Robin called before exiting out the medical bay's doors.

"Have fun with that, Baywatch," Artemis added, flippantly waving at him without even turning around before disappearing behind the closing metal doors.

Wally sighed and collapsed back into the pillows on his bed. And then his stomach growled. Frustrated, the red head grabbed one of the extra pillows on his bed and shoved his face into it, letting out some kind of animalistic groan that sounded quite like a mix between a dying whale and a burping lion.

And he was still hungry.

* * *

That night, Wally was feeling well enough to walk around, but his healing ribs hurt if anything or anyone touched them and too much pressure on his left ankle resulted in a sharp stab of pain. He had eaten a whole extra large pizza by himself for dinner and was feeling good. Now Wally was lounging on the couch, watching old Mission Impossible movies with his left ankle elevated and iced and head resting on what was probably the world's fluffiest, fuzziest, and most furry hot pink pillow— M'gann insisted he borrow it. A bowl of extra buttery popcorn rested on his stomach.

The rest of the Team decided to retire to their rooms at 10:28 when the first Mission Impossible movie finished playing. Wally opted to keep watching by himself and was almost done with the second one. By the time the third movie was playing, the red head was nodding off, the bowl of popcorn empty by the couch's foot. It was 1:37 in the morning as the main character was trying to scale a skyscraper with no safety harness in the middle of the movie when Wally finally drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Wally opened his eyes sleepily, peering at the clock. 2:58 in the morning. The television had turned itself off after being left alone for so long. The red head was about to close his eyes again when he saw Zatanna teleport into the Cave's living room. But there was something wrong with her. She sported a ghostly white pallor and was almost translucent, floating half a foot above the ground. Her eyes were brimming with tears that threatened to spill as she slowly headed toward Robin's room. Wally got up and silently followed her, thankful that he had been practicing his stealth skills recently.

She slipped through the crack of Robin's opened door and approached the figure at the computers that was typing away rapidly.

"Robin," she said quietly. The Boy Wonder didn't respond. Scowling, Zatanna spoke louder. "Robin. Stop typing for a minute. Robin!" When he didn't respond, she stormed from the room, heading for Artemis's room this time. The blonde archer was up finishing an English Lit paper.

"Artemis, can you hear me?" The blonde kept on scrawling on. "This isn't funny. Artemis! Please?" Having gained no reply, the rebellious tears started flowing down Zatanna's cheeks as she covered her face with her hands and blindly dashed to her own room, not even noticing when she phased right through the door.

Wally gingerly followed her, pausing in front of the magician's closed door. "What should I do?" he muttered to himself. "Maybe this is just a dream," he reasoned. The red head sighed. "Well, if this is just a dream, I have nothing to lose." With that, he opened Zatanna's door and walked in.

The crying girl looked up suddenly when she heard the door open.

"Wally," she breathed uncertainly. "Can... Can you see me?"

Wally stood shock still for a moment before inhaling deeply and nodding his head.

"You're... a ghost," Wally said incredulously as he gingerly sat down beside her on the plush mattress.

Zatanna's eyes flashed. "Technically, I'm a spirit. I— my body is still alive. I can feel it."

"But... This is impossible," Wally breathed. "Magic, and... The human body, it... it can't—"

The magician shot a death glare at him, effectively silencing the stuttering speedster. "Either you're delusional, or magic is real," she growled challengingly. "Go on. Choose one."

Wally remained silent.

"I thought so."

"What happened? I saw you get hit with that evil looking bit of lightning and then saw Malfin carry your d— unconscious body off." He was glad he didn't say _dead_ instead of unconscious.

"Actually, that lightning probably would've killed me, but I- I cast a spell. Well, sort of. I panicked and said Evas em— save me. I guess it just ended up saving my spirit. At least I'm not dead."

"You can still use your, erm... magic, right? I saw you teleport in," Wally pointed out.

Zatanna's eyes widened a bit. "Of course!" She stood up and closed her eyes and crossed four fingers in an X shape, concentrating hard. "Teg em ym ydob kcab!" Her eyes snapped open to find that nothing happened. Zatanna frowned.

"Tup em kcab ni ym ydob!"

Still nothing.

"Nruter ym ydob kcab ot em!"

When that didn't work, Zatanna stomped her foot in the air and growled in frustration. "Why isn't this working?" she exclaimed. "I teleported just fine!" And as if to prove the point, Zatanna uttered the words, "Tropelet edistuo ym moor." She disappeared and then reappeared just outside her room before floating back in.

"Human error?" Wally supplied jokingly. The magician glared at him, not taking it as a joke.

"Don't even go there," she growled. Wally sighed.

"Well then. Malfin must still have your body," Wally announced unnecessarily. "And the whole 'using zhis pure vessel to bring back my lord' thing sounds a bit freaky, if you ask me. I mean, what the hell is he trying to do?"

"First off, your Russian accent is _horrible_," Zatanna started. "And second, I _don't _know. I need to find out what he's doing, stop it, and get my body back. You have to help," she pleaded. "You're the only that can."

_'It's just a dream...'_ a quiet, foreign voice in the back of Wally's head whispered. _'You've got nothing to lose for getting involved with all this magic and junk.'_

"Of course I'll help, Zatanna."

"Great!" the girl exclaimed. "Now, I know this sage who lives in Enchánte, New Mexico. I think she might know how to deal with demons," the raven haired girl rambled, oblivious to Wally's lack of attention.

He nodded absently, yawning a huge yawn. "I'm going to fall asleep with my eyes open right now. In the morning, _please_, Zatanna."

The girl sighed. "Okay," she conceded, albeit a bit begrudgingly. Wally thanked her before just leaning his head back and falling asleep on the magician's bed. Not that she could do anything about it anyway.

* * *

"Wally."

"Wally, wake up."

"Hello? Wake up!"

Wally moaned into the bed. "5 more minutes, mom," he mumbled. "I can run to school in three seconds." Zatanna groaned. She felt sorry for Mrs. West if she had to deal with this blob every morning.

"Dammit Wally! WAKE UP!" The red head sleepily looked up to see Zatanna glaring down at him.

"Huh, what're you doing in my room?" he slurred sleepily.

"This is _my_ room," Zatanna replied slowly. "Now if you could please get your sleepy ass up, we should go before the rest of the Team wakes up."

It took a moment for that to register in Wally's brain.

"Oh. Yea. That. No wonder why it smelled like cinnamon in here."

"Get ready to go, Kid Slow! Ooh, that rhymed!"

Wally slowly sat up, pushing away the covers he pulled over himself in his sleep. "I'm going," he said. "Geez, you're just like my mom." He walked out of Zatanna's room and to his own room. "See ya in 5."

Zatanna paced around in the air for five minutes before Wally appeared, fully dressed and eating a banana. "Where to?" he asked, munching on the fruit.

"Firstly, don't talk with your mouth full; it's disgusting. We're going to Enchánte, New Mexico."

"Can you even zeta?" he asked, finishing the banana and throwing the peel away.

"I'll teleport," she replied smartly. "_You_ can zeta to Santa Fe and I'll meet you there to guide you to Enchánte."

"Wait, how will I find y—"

"Tropelet ot atnaS eF!"

With a flash of light, Zatanna disappeared and Wally was alone.

"Well." The red head typed in his destination's coordinates and stepped into the zeta. After appearing in the out of order phone booth, Wally stepped out into the dim morning light. It was 4:49 am in New Mexico; no one was awake yet and the sun had yet to rise this winter morning.

He quickly climbed over the fence that closed off the dank and dirty alleyway and walked along the empty New Mexican street, hands in his pockets. Wally searched for Zatanna's spirit floating around as he casually strolled along— because a ghostly white floating girl would be quite hard to miss. Soon, the speedster found himself at the edge of the city.

"Zatanna?" he yelled out down the street, toward the city.

"What?" a voice said behind him, causing Wally to jump up a few feet in surprise. He whirled around to find Zatanna floating there, smirking at his reaction to her sneaking up on him.

Wally spluttered a few angry, frustrated, incoherent words (if they could be called that) before he exhaled deeply, trying to calm down. "You and Robin are too alike," he ground out.

Zatanna just laughed. "Gee, maybe_ that's_ why we're best friends!" she exclaimed sarcastically.

Wally vaguely wondered if Robin had a crush on Zatanna, because if the Boy Wonder did, he just got Friend-Zoned. "Seriously, though, it's not funny when you do that ninja thing— especially if you're all ghosty and stuff."

The magician flippantly waved off the accusation. "And now we're walking!" she said, floating ahead of Wally.

"Where to again?"

"I said I knew a sage that might know how to help me. She's killer with magic, and she even taught me a few tricks when I lived here for a few years. Enchánte is just 20 miles straight ahead, so maybe you could run there?" the raven haired girl explained. "I'll meet you there, right on the outskirts."

Wally nodded. "See ya there!" and then he sped off in a blur.

"Tropelet ot etnáhcnE!" Zatanna had to wait about two seconds until Wally sped to a stop in front of her.

"No fair, you beat me!" he exclaimed, not even breathing fast after his twenty mile run.

A shrug was the only reply the red head received. She signaled for him to follow as she began to float toward an outcrop of rocks.

"There's nothing he—"

"Laever!"

And then an opening revealed itself hidden amongst the gathered rocks.

"Oh."

The two trekked down the hole, which led to a vast underground cave. A lady with white hair and light purple robes was sitting in the center of the chamber in front of some candles, summing to be meditating.

"Zatanna, is that you?"

Or not meditating.

"Mintari," Zatanna greeted as the lady stood up and turned to face them. She was petite and looked rather old— with wrinkles covering her olive skin. Her hair was white and silver and tied in a low ponytail that reached to her waist. The old lady seemed content, relaxed, and happy— a smile that never faded gracing her features and making her hazel eyes twinkle merrily. "How are you?" the raven haired girl asked.

"I am fine; thank you. You, on the other hand, are obviously not. Who is this guest you have brought here?"

"This is Wally." — "I'm Wally," the two teenagers said simultaneously.

"This is my friend, Wally," the girl repeated. "He's the only one who could see me like this, and he agreed to come with me," she elaborated. "We were hoping you could help or tell us something, Mintari?"

The sage nodded. "Come, have a seat," she told Wally, motioning to the ground beside her as she sat herself down. "Now tell me, Zatanna— how did this happen?"

As the magician floated in a sitting position with the other two, she recounted the whole mission up until she went back to Mount Justice.

"I knew I felt a dark presence recently," Mintari spoke solemnly. "Malfin is a servant of Chaos— Klarion as you might know him. The Lord of Chaos lost his familiar in a battle against Fate and needed a human host— stronger than a familiar— to return to the earthly plane. He can't take just any host, but a host with pure magic running through its veins."

The teenagers let this information soak in. Zatanna grasped the main idea first— her eyes widening comically and her mouth swearing violently.

"You mean stupid Klarion the Witch Boy is going to be traipsing around in _MY_ body?" she screeched. Wally gulped and backed away from the raven haired girl, who was beginning to look ready to murder something brutally. Then the worst thing happened. She turned on Wally, inches from his face with a crazed expression.

"Wally. You _have_ to stop him. I don't want that _creep_ anywhere _near _my body!" Wally swallowed nervously and nodded.

"I said I'd help, didn't I?" he squeaked. Zatanna backed away, leaving Wally enough room to sigh in relief. He turned to face the sage, who seemed the slightest bit amused by Zatanna's explosion (from which the girl was slowly calming down from). "So, how do we stop them?"

"With the Helmet of Fate, of course," was the simple reply.

"It broke the last time I fought Klarion," Wally noted.

"Then find the pieces and fix it."

"Where are they?" Zatanna— having regained her cool— asked before the speedster could, which was quite a feat.

"I do not know."

Silence.

"But in a vision, I saw a map and drew it in my trance." The sage got up and pulled back a tapestry on her cave's back wall to reveal a door. "It is hidden at the back of this cave and has been there for quite a few months. I fear quite a few chaos demons and beasts may block the way there."

"Let me at them!" Wally exclaimed. "Chaos wimps ain't got nothing on the Wallman!"

"I can just stay here," Zatanna said unsurely. "I don't think teleporting won't do much good, Wally."

The speedster nodded.

"Wish me luck then," he said as he stood up.

"Good luck," Zatanna replied. Wally dragged open the ancient door and walked in— soon swallowed by the darkness inside.

* * *

OH MY GOSH, GUYS. THREE MORE DAYS.


	3. Chapter 3

**Fixations**

Still advertising my Tumblr, lol. XD dammityouevilsuffixes . tumblr . com if you're looking to hear about Fixations/my other fanfic projects or just to come and bother me. :3 I love chatting with my readers. (ps, irenerb is awesome on Tumblr; check her out too. :D)

* * *

**Chapter Summary:** After getting his ass whooped by some chaos magic, Wally rethinks his approach. Maybe a little mystical assistance from a certain spirit wouldn't hurt.  
**Warnings:** Minor language  
**Pairing(s): **Wally develops a close relationship with the ground. XD

* * *

It was dark. Very dark.

Wally could barely see a few inches in front of him as he went deeper down the staircase of the cave, to the deep dark unknown. Then, the stairs stopped, leading into a hallway. At the end of the hall, Wally saw torches illuminating the way.

"Thank goodness," he sighed. The speedster had no desire to navigate through monster filled caves with no light. His steps echoed dully off the cave's walls as he continued his brisk pace down. When Wally rounded the corner at the end of the hallway, he was greeted with a large door. He tried the handle.

Locked.

Swearing, Wally looked around for a key on the ground or hidden somewhere— you never know. He tried the handle again, not so gently this time. As he slammed the handle down, it broke off, the crack resounding through the cave.

Having enough of the door, Wally aimed a strong kick at the door's center, splitting the obviously weak wood right down the middle. He moved the rest of the wood away to the side of the hallway and gingerly stepped into the newly revealed room. As soon as he set a foot inside the room, a cloud of purple smoke erupted from the ground and a horrible monster stepped out of the smoke.

It looked like it came right out of a child's nightmare— midnight violet skin and glowing red eyes. It had lighter purple swirls on its bare, scaly body and a forked tongue darted out of its mouth. Goat's horns grew from its temples and it only had three clawed fingers and toes per hand and foot. It snarled at Wally, and two more of its kind appeared from behind it. The two new ones were wielding gnarled twigs in their hands— for some reason Wally couldn't figure out. The original monster had a gnarled wooden staff as tall as itself— three feet high— with a tennis ball sized emerald glass sphere held in place by the wooden tendrils of the staff.

As his shock wore off, Wally stepped into a defensive position, ready to move at any nanosecond. The original monster— most likely the leader— pointed his staff at Wally and the two monsters on its side lunged at the speedster. Wally sped to the right and kicked the nearest monster in the chest— throwing it into the wall. He gasped when it exploded into purple smoke at the harsh contact. Wally turned around to see the other monster waving its twig at Wally. He scoffed and lunged at that monster. But, for some mysterious reason, Wally tripped over his own feet and hit the ground with a dull thud. In his one second down, the monster had pulled a club from nowhere and hit Wally on the head, disorientating him.

Wally shoved the monster away and stood up, finding his shoelaces tied together in a hopeless knot. He hopped over to the monster and punched it in the face before react, and it exploded into purple smoke like its comrade. All that was left was their leader, who was just standing there, staring at Wally with emotionless red eyes. Wally grabbed his knotted laces in a fist and vibrated his molecules until they burned the laces apart.

Wally prepared for an attack. The monster— which Wally briefly decided deserved the name of an Ugly— raised its staff and fired a beam of dark purple energy at Wally. He dodged it, but the area of wall behind him was hit with the force of a jackhammer. Wally eyes widened.

_'Note to self, let's avoid the purple beams,'_ he thought, narrowly rolling away from another. Wally sped up closer to the Ugly, and as he raised a fist to punch it in the back, it turned on him and blasted a flash of yellow light at Wally— making him stumble back a few feet.

When his eyes readjusted, the Ugly was nowhere to be seen. Frowning at the suspiciousness of what just happened, Wally slowly and carefully walked to the door at the other end of the room, opposite to the door he came through.

It was locked. Frustrated, Wally aimed a hard kick at the center of the door. The only thing he got was a sharp jab of pain in his ankle as he fell down on his butt. Wally kicked it again with his other foot, but to no avail. The door— which was made of the same wood as the other door and should have broken easily— was as hard and sturdy and strong as steel.

He slammed the door with his fist. "Why. Won't. You. Open?" he growled, accentuating each word with another slam. Then, words began to form on the door, like a mirage. Wally squinted at it, trying to make out what it said.

"_The key must be cast from emerald staff,_" he recited. "What does that even mean!" Wally dwelled on it for a bit until an idea hit him. The lead Ugly was holding a staff with a giant emerald orb on top, using it to shoot magic beams at Wally.

_'That must be it!'_ he thought. _'But where did that Ugly go? And is there a spell or something that opens the door? Maybe I should go ask Mintari if she knows...'_ Wally sped out of the room and up the stairs. Zatanna and Mintari were discussing what they would do if they couldn't stop Malfin in time.

"Wally, you are back quite early. Are you done already?" the sage asked, knowing he was there even though her back was toward him.

"The door in that room. It's locked, and I can't break it."

"Have you tried using a key?" Zatanna asked, snickering.

"That's the thing," Wally argued. "This weird ugly monster thing has the key andhehasmagicandkeepsonzappi ngmeandevenifIgetthekeyIcan't—"

"Wally, stop. You're rambling." He blinked. "Do you always start talking that fast when you're trying to explain things?"

"Oh. Sorry. The monster," he repeated. "It has magic. It keeps trying to murder me with weird purple beams. It has they key, and I can't get it. Even if I can, the door says _'the key must be cast from emerald staff'_ and I'm pretty sure that means by magic and Ican'tdomagicsowhatamIgoingtodono w?"

"I lost you at 'by magic'," Zatanna said, "but I think I get the gist. You got your ass kicked by a magical monster and came here to ask for help," she said in an understanding tone, but Wally had a feeling she was just messing with him.

"No, I didn't!" the red head exclaimed heatedly. "The monster was the one that ran away."

"After he kicked your ass to the ground, no doubt."

"You weren't even there; that did_ so _not happen."

"Then why are your clothes all dirty, Mister I didn't get my ass kicked to the ground by some magic being?"

"I tripped," he fibbed. "The stairwell was dark."

All he got was a roll of the eyes from the magician. Wally briefly wondered why Mintari wasn't doing anything, and when he glanced at the sage, she was watching them bemusedly as they bickered.

"Then why are you up here since you_ obviously_ have the situation under control?"

Wally was about to snap back when finally the sage decided to intervene.

"Okay, you two, that is enough," she said in a no-nonsense tone. "Wally, can you explain what is wrong one more time?"

"I think the door needs magic to open it, and I can't really do anything about that. Can you open it?"

"You think a frail old lady like me can go fight monsters?" she asked Wally, who opened his mouth to apologize. Mintari just kept talking. "No, I'm afraid I can't help you there, young man. Perhaps Zatanna can accompany you? It _is_ her body you are helping to retrieve after all," she suggested, turning to meet the raven haired girl's gaze.

Zatanna chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully for a moment before talking. "I guess I can go with you, Wally," she addressed the red head, sounding almost careful. "I don't know how much I could help, but I'll go. I can be emotional support or something," she joked awkwardly.

Wally nodded at her in thanks as she floated over to his side. "Okay, let's go," he said resolutely. Wally craned his neck behind him to talk to her as he walked back down the stairs into the inky darkness. "I'm gonna show you how _I _beat the monster's ass instead of— _GAH!_"

Wally tripped over a step and fell the rest of the way down the stairs with a loud bunch of crashes, creaks, and (girlish) yelps. He landed face down on the dirty, dusty ground, moaning in pain.

Zatanna sped over to his side. "Um, are you okay?"

"No," he groaned, not moving.

"Did you break anything?"

"No." He flipped over onto his back. Wally had a cut on his left cheek running from the corner of his eye to his chin and a few scrapes on his forearms.

"You're bleeding."

Wally slowly sat up and examined his scrapes. "Nah, I'll be fine," he said, waving her off as he stumbled up.

"You know," she started, a sly smile growing on her face, "this is kind of like karma because you _claimed_ to have tripped down the stairs when you _really_ got beat up by a monster, and now you actually tripped!"

Wally scowled. "Way to provide emotional support," he deadpanned.

"What can I say?"

"Let's just keep on going." Wally brushed himself off and kept on trudging until he hit the corner around the room with those Uglies.

"Why'd you stop?" Zatanna questioned. "Is the big, bad Wally afraid of a wittle magic?"

"Psh, of course not!" he scoffed, marching in without hesitation. As soon as he stepped foot in the room, the head Ugly appeared in a puff of purple smoke. This time, it made a door appear behind Wally, locking him in. Wally tried kicking it, but like the door that blocked the next room, this one refused to break too. Wally swore under his breath.

"Ew, what is that?" Zatanna asked, nose wrinkled in disgust at the little monster. The little monster obviously couldn't see or hear her, aiming a bolt of dark purple energy right at Wally. He dove to the left to avoid getting hit.

"I call it an Ugly, and it's more dangerous than it looks," the speedster said, dashing behind the Ugly in an attempt to sneak up on it. The monster put up an invisible wall around it and then lifted its staff, making a dozen more copies of itself, all surrounding the speedster with staff raised menacingly.

Wally scanned each one and decided to lunge at the one that was doing something a little different from all its dopplegangers. He jumped, fist poised to deck it in the head, but all of a sudden it disappeared. The monster directly behind Wally was the only one left aiming a spell at him, and Zatanna threw her hand out at it on impulse, yelling, "_Ezeerf_!"

Wally wheeled around to see the Ugly frozen mid-spell, violet bolt halfway out of its staff and Zatanna looking impossibly surprised that she had managed to cast a spell. The monster's staff began to crackle again and Wally sped over and threw it into the wall, where it shattered into a million ice shards before dissipating into a puff of purple smoke like its comrades, save for the emerald topped wooden staff.

"I did it; it worked!" Zatanna exclaimed gleefully. Then she gasped. "Maybe I can get my body back!"

"Cool!" Wally exclaimed, but for a different reason. He had picked up the monster's meter long staff, twirling it in his hand like a baton. "Souvenir."

Zatanna paid him no heed and tried to cast a spell to get her body back once more. Nothing happened.

She tried again, frowning. Still nothing.

Once more, Zatanna uttered another spell— almost hysterical sounding.

Since nothing happened again, she shrieked this last spell before burying her face in her hands and growling lividly in frustration when there was no effect.

Wally approached her carefully.

"Um... You okay?"

She shook her head. "I cast a spell earlier. You saw me cast it, right? Why can't I do it again!"

The red head pursed his lips. "Maybe since you're not exactly— erm— _human_ right now, you can't do certain things?" he said uncertainly.

"_Tuhs pu_," she muttered, irritated at the 'not human' comment. Wally's mouth instantly slammed shut. When she noticed the unusual silence, she looked up to see Wally glaring at her with his mouth glued closed.

"Oops." She quickly undid the spell.

"Thanks," he bit out bitterly.

"I just don't get it!" the magician ranted. "I can cast tiny little, useless spells, but that's all! And getting my body back isn't that much to ask for, is it? It's like teleportation, which I can do easily!"

Wally had no idea how to reply, only swinging his new souvenir in his hand silently.

Zatanna watched the shiny emerald orb as it spun around for a while. Then she sighed. "Let's just keep going. I'm not getting my body back any faster."

"Hey, do you think you can open this door Zatanna?" her companion asked, using the staff like a pointer. She shrugged.

"Worth a try." She floated up to the door. "_Nepo_!" And... Nothing.

"How about open sesame?" Wally asked jokingly.

"If you think it's that easy, why don't you try?" she deadpanned, before rewording the spell and trying again, to no results. Wally stood beside her patiently as she continued her attempts. Then he had enough after about a minute or two.

"Ugh, this is taking forever!" he exclaimed. "Why isn't it abra kadabra? Or open sesame?" he asked frustratedly, thrusting his arm out to point at the door with his souvenir. "Or— what the hell?— it always worked when you said _Nepo_!"

And as if by some kind of magic, the door opened of its own accord with Wally's last word. The eyes of both teenagers widened considerably.

"Um... Slow reaction time?" Wally said, peering at Zatanna.

"Let me see that staff," she demanded. Wally shrugged, tossing it to her. It passed right through Zatanna— who didn't even move to catch it because she knew she couldn't— and hit the ground with a hollow clatter. "Smooth, Wally." He picked it back up and held it up for the spirit-girl.

Zatanna's eyebrows rose higher as she examined it. "I'd know these markings anywhere!" she said, indicating the weird signs scratched onto the wood right below the emerald orb. "This is a magic staff," she explained, "one of the few ever made that can be used by non-magical beings. _That's_ why the door opened when you said the spell."

"Oookay, I'm pretending I totally get what is going on. Continue."

Zatanna blinked. "That's all," she told him, giving him a look that said, 'Gee, thanks for listening, Wallace.' She shook her head in disappointment. "Let's just keep going," she sighed, floating through the newly opened door. Wally followed her.

Inside, it was pitch black. As soon as Wally had stepped through, the door shut by itself again. Wally swore.

"What was it again?" he muttered just to himself. "Oh yea! Er— _nepo_?" he said, pointing his staff in the direction of the door. It didn't open. Wally heard a hissing sound and whirled around, face to face with glowing red eyes that illuminated the face of the giant snake attached to it. The red head whacked it over the head with his staff and raced blindly to a different corner of the dark room.

"Zatanna, where are you?" he asked the inky blackness, trying to locate her. He could hear the snake's body slithering across the cold, rock ground and held his breath, hoping it wouldn't find him just yet.

"Wally," a voice whispered into his ear, startling him. He turned to see the magician floating right behind him. "I'm going to illuminate the room and you attack it, okay? _Etanimulli_." It didn't work.

"Maybe you have to wait and recharge," he said helpfully. "Like a battery."

"Okay, I'm pretty insulted by that, but I'll slap you later. Just repeat after me." He nodded, and she continued talking. "Et-ani-mull-i," she enunciated slowly. The snake let out a loud hiss and Wally could hear it coming near— and fast. He quickly repeated the magician's spell. A flash of light burst from the staff, lighting up the whole room, and the snake hissed, recoiling with its eyes slammed shut.

Wally dashed forward and slammed it in the head with enough force to bat an impressive home run. He roundhouse kicked its head to the ground and jabbed it with the staff once more. It was a miracle (or maybe by magic) that the staff wasn't broken yet. With that final hit, the snake erupted into a plume of blood red smoke.

"Sheesh, do these monsters ever bleed or anything?" he asked, not seeming tired in the least bit. "They just _poof!_" he said with the appropriate hand gesture, "and they're gone."

Zatanna made a face, imagining all the blood that could be. "I wouldn't complain if I were you."

Wally shrugged.

"Boys..." she muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes. Thankfully, Wally didn't see. He was more occupied by the door across the room that had just opened itself, as well as the one they entered through. The two marched— or floated in Zatanna's case— in and were greeted with a dimmer, warm glow of light coming from some indiscernible source. In the center of the room was a faded piece of parchment— the map.

"Sweet, this must be it!" Wally sped forward and grabbed it. As soon as he had touched it, he and Zatanna were enveloped by a bright light and they opened their eyes to find themselves back in Mintari's room.

"Oh, you're back!" the sage announced cheerily. "And you have the map!"

The red head peered at the map, which was divided into four sections. Each had its own little map of some rather odd looking floor plans with extravagant writing showing the names of the locations on top.

"The first Helmet piece is in... Whiston, Oregon?" Wally asked, squinting his eyes at the curly script. Mintari tapped the map with her finger, nodding.

"I suppose so," she said. "I'm afraid I cannot help you over there. I see you are well equipped, though. That is a fine staff, made by the first sage that lived in this cave over a thousand years ago. It even compacts!" she exclaimed as if it were the coolest thing in the world. She pointed at the staff and spoke, "_Eziminim_."

The staff shrank in Wally's hand until it was about one and a half inches long, a long leather cord attached to it like a necklace chain.

"And to get it back to normal, you can just say, _ezimixam_," the sage exclaimed. Wally tugged the necklace over his head and hid it under his shirt.

"I'm probably going to have to remember those for you, Wally," Zatanna sighed.

"Much appreciated," he told Zatanna with a slight air of smugness, to which she replied with a scowl, floating out ahead of him. He quickly followed.

As soon as they were outside, Wally's cell phone rang and he paused to pick it up, answering before Zatanna could possibly see the name.

"Hey Wally, where are you? I thought we were gonna have an epic video game smack down today."

Wally mentally swore. He had forgotten about that.

"Oh, sorry Rob. Something came up... with a friend," Wally fibbed, glancing at Zatanna's spirit floating beside him as they continued walking back to the zeta.

"Oh, it's fine," Robin amended. "Which friend was it?"

Wally swallowed nervously before answering. "Er, it's my friend... Montanna," he made up on the spot. "You don't know him. He lost something important of his." Wally suddenly rounded a corner on the street and crashed into a tree, causing a birdhouse to fall out of it with a jumble and a crash.

"What was that?" the voice over the phone asked.

"It was just Montanna," Wally said quickly. "Hey Tanna!" he half-yelled away from the mouthpiece. "You found your car keys yet?" Some civilians around them gave Wally weird looks, but otherwise left him alone.

"Oh," the Boy Wonder said. "Well, I guess I'll just leave you alone for now."

Wally sighed in relief, but away from the mouthpiece of course. "Yea, I'll try to be back at the Cave in... about half an hour, alright?"

"Sure thing, KF. See ya then, and— heh— don't forget your video gaming skills at home." A cackle sounded through the speakers.

"Psh, you're on! I'll whoop your sorry ass, dude," Wally yelled back before hanging up and stuffing his phone back into his pocket. He looked up to see Zatanna smirking down at him.

"Montanna?" she asked bemusedly, eyebrow quirked. Wally pouted childishly.

"Aw stuff it, _Tanna._"

* * *

Heh, this chapter became a bit too long, so I shortened it. And even so, it's quite long. XD

Happy Friday, mi hermanos. :) New episode tomorrow! 


	4. Chapter 4

**Fixations**

HAPPY HALLOWEEN GUYS! :D

* * *

**Chapter Summary:** Apparently "talking to Zatanna" isn't very sane and merits a check-in with the Cave's psych ward. But Wally escapes— because being trapped in the psych ward is worse than school. Really.  
**Warnings:** Minor language  
**Pairing(s): **This chapter has been Friend Zoned. xP

* * *

Wally may or may not have stopped by a fast food place for a quick refuelage before taking the zeta back into the Cave. He and Zatanna were just talking as they walked to the zetas, ignoring any weird looks at Wally and subconsciously, the magician had just followed him into the zeta.

It transported them both back to the Cave, but it had no idea that Zatanna was there, only announcing Wally's arrival. They decided that the fact could be useful— at least to keep Wally from getting lost or separated from his companion. They were just wrapping up that conversation when Robin walked in.

"KF, who're you talking to?" the Boy Wonder asked.

"No one!" the red head exclaimed, sounding very chalant.

The thirteen year old raised an eyebrow. "Really? I could've sworn I heard you talking to someone."

"I just got off the phone with a friend," Wally fibbed, regaining his cool and sounding much less chalant. "That's probably what you heard."

Robin shrugged. "Alright then... I just broke your record in Alley Racers 4!" he bragged, changing the subject with a smug smirk. "Care to battle to regain your title?"

Wally's face instantly brightened. "Dude, you're on. I'll show you how a real speedster races!" The two boys dashed over to the television and turned on their game console, arguing over who got dibs on the "sick, hot-rod red Mustang '64".

As for Zatanna— who knows where she went. She turned invisible and either went to go see how everyone seemed to be doing, or just watched Wally and Robin throw themselves left and right with the turns their racers made and yell insults at each other with maniacal grins and cackles.

* * *

Wally lost for a second time in a row. And this was with Artemis playing, too. That was just straight-up embarrassing. But then again, it was kind of hard to concentrate on beating your best friend and archenemy with a spirit only you could hear cheering for the others. The ones that couldn't even hear her.

After his third loss in last place, he finally cracked.

"Will you be quiet?" he hissed at Zatanna. Robin and Artemis peered at him curiously, but he didn't see them.

Zatanna, meanwhile, refused to be quiet. To quote her, "But it's so fun watching your eye twitch whenever I cheer Artemis on every time she passes you."

"Dude, it's distracting and you're making me lose! It's embarrassing."

"Wally, who are you talking to?" Robin asked cautiously, concern for his best bud's sanity evident in his voice.

Wally turned around. "Uh..."

Artemis raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Well?"

The red head's eyes flicked back and forth between Zatanna and his video gaming buddies. Zatanna didn't do anything, so he spoke.

"I'm talking to Zatanna," he spilled out. Both Robin and Artemis looked at him like he was insane.

"Wally, don't you remember? Zee was kidnapped," Robin said slowly. Wally could tell his gaze had hardened under his dark glasses from being reminded of what had happened to his close friend.

"No!" Wally argued. "She's right here," he explained, gesturing to the spirit that only he could see. "Only I can see her and hear her, but she's here! I swear."

"Wally, are you feeling okay?" Artemis asked, suprisingly not sounding very snarky.

"Yea," Robin agreed with the blonde. "Are you all there? If you want to win, I can go easy on you, dude."

"No! It isn't about the game. She's right here— I swear."

Artemis and Robin exchanged a look. Artemis nodded minutely, as if agreeing with something. Robin looked a bit worried— reluctant?— but nodded back. The red head wondered what they were thinking.

"Wally, I think you should take a little break from the vidoe games for now," Robin suggested. "Maybe go take a nap."

"You do look like you need some sleep. You have hideous bags under your eyes," Zatanna added.

"Stay out of it, Zatanna," Wally snapped at Zatanna, who glared at him.

"Wally?"

The red head turned to look back at his best friend, who was giving him a concerned look that shined even through his dark shades. "I really think you should take a nap or something, man."

Wally sighed. "If I take one, you'll leave me alone afterwards, right?"

The Boy Wonder nodded. Reluctantly, Wally walked to his room, Robin and Artemis— although Wally didn't know why she'd care to follow— by his side. He didn't see Zatanna anywhere, so he assumed she went invisible again and went who knows where. They just stood there awkwardly as Wally fell down into a plush chair in his room. Robin stepped out, quickly followed by Artemis.

The red head heard something drop to the floor as the door closed and looked around to find a container of sleeping gas leaking its contents into the air. It was too late, because then Wally felt his eyes drooping as he fell unconscious.

* * *

When Wally woke up, he was in the med bay. Again. A clip board was on the table beside him, showing a messily scrawled report about Wally suffering from "post-concussion delusions and/or post-traumatic stress". On top of that was a note in what Wally recognized as Dick's skinny, neat handwriting. He picked up the note.

_Dude, I'm sorry. Artemis made me do it, and we were kinda worried about your sanity. Mostly me, though. The concussion you got didn't look very turbing and you're probably still a bit distraught._

The word mental health was written, but it was messily scratched out to be replaced with sanity. The words _"Mostly me, though."_ were also scratched out— no doubt by Artemis— and in rushed-looking handwriting beneath it was, _"Ignore Robin; your kidiocy is rubbing off on him, I swear. Sorry 'bout knocking you out but as Robin would say, you're not very traught right now."_

There were even more scribbles on all over Artemis's message and Wally was pretty sure they were fighting over the pen while writing the message.

He saw a machine next to him recording his brain activity and scowled at it. While the concern was touching, he wished they had believed him. And then he noticed that Zatanna wasn't with him; she had disappeared a while ago.

_How long have I been out?_ he wondered. Looking at the clock, he saw that it was seven at night— two hours had passed. Silently dragging himself off the bed, he headed straight for the door. When Wally found it locked, he swore. It had never been locked before.

Sighing, he tried to think what the code could be. Robin no doubt was responsible— no one could mess with tech like he could. And if it was the Boy Wonder, then he must have put something personal that no one else on the Team would know.

_His birthday!_ Wally thought. He pushed the corresponding buttons. Nothing happened. Okay, maybe I underestimated the World's Greatest Detective's protégé.

The red head tried everyone else's birthdays (that he knew) and a few random number combinations, too. Nothing worked. Growling in frustration, he stepped back, taking a deep breath and glaring at the door.

_Flash would be able to vibrate right through,_ he noted. _Maybe if I try..._

Wally took a few more steps back before dashing at the door at top speed. With a resounding smash, he bounced off the hard metal surface, nose bleeding profusely. No one came and unlocked the door, though, asking where the loud crash had come from, so Wally assumed the Cave was empty. He nursed his bleeding nose until Zatanna suddenly phased right through the door.

"Um... What exactly did you do?" she asked, watching him shove tissues up his nose, eyes flickering to the pile of bloodied tissues surrounding him.

"Need to work on vibrating molecules through things," he mumbled nasally. The magician rolled her eyes.

"And you didn't think to just, _nepo!_" she said, opening the door herself. The speedster pouted, continuing to attend to his nose. The blood flow was starting to slow down, finally. He threw the bloodied tissues away and headed out of the med bay.

"Let's just head to Whiston," Wally said. "I have no desire to be psychoanalyzed any longer."

"Wait!" Zatanna said. She muttered a quick spell and another Wally, sleeping soundly, appeared on the bed the original speedster had just occupied. "They won't suspect a thing! Well, at least until they try to get him to wake up. Or until he just disappears when the magic wears off."

"Let's get going before anyone gets back then."

Zatanna nodded. "I guess it's just you and me now, huh?" she asked. "Well, if the Team is going to focus on finding my body, then I can focus on how to get back in my body. And the first step is to get rid of Klarion and Malfin."

Wally nodded absently, shoving a few things into his back pack and heading for the zetas. He started typing his desired coordinates into the zeta. Apparently they had an old zeta beam in Whiston, but it isn't used much anymore. He and Zatanna stepped into the teleporter and reappeared in an old, run down phone booth with tinted windows.

"Robin taught me how to erase any traces of recent zeta trips," the red head said as he rapidly pressed buttons on the machine. "We've snuck out of the Cave so many times."

Within a few seconds, Wally was done and they were walking out of the phone booth into a cool, breezy evening in Oregon. Wally fished the old map out of his backpack.

"Whoa, the Helmet piece, it's in—"

"An underwater cave!" Zatanna finished. "I hope you can swim, Wally. This cave is like twenty feet below the surface."

Wally scoffed. "Of course I can swim. Twenty feet ain't got nothing on this guy!"

"Mhm," Zatanna nodded absently. "Save the bragging for after you actually dive down there."

* * *

"I am not diving down there."

Wally looked down the small cliff— probably thirty feet high— to the clear blue ocean below. There weren't any rocks or sharp things that he could possibly die from, but it was a long fall. And the waves crashing on the side of the cliff made it look even more ominous.

"What happened to the Wally that was bragging just seven minutes ago? Did he get scared away by a wittle bit of water?" Zatanna asked mockingly. Wally scowled at her.

"I've never dived this far before, is all," he said, waving a hand flippantly. The magician rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. I'll meet you down there once you work up the nerve to jump then," she spoke nonchalantly, floating down and into the water with neither sound nor splash.

Wally groaned, taking off his backpack and hiding it under some rocks after fishing his Kid Flash goggles out. "Show off," he muttered to himself. "Not all of us can fly."

He put his goggles on around his neck and peered down into the blue water once again. If he just jumped, he wouldn't hit anything, and it was pretty deep, too. Wally wasn't worried about drowning; he had taken swim lessons since he was six. Thirty feet down... He inched a bit closer to the edge. How bad could it—

"BOO!"

With a shriek, Wally tumbled over the edge and into the water. He barely had time to take a proper diving position before he broke the surface of the cold water. He pushed himself to the top and saw Zatanna floating above him, laughing freely.

"Not funny," he growled.

"Too funny!" she choked out between bowls of laughter. Wally ignored her, putting his goggles over his eyes and taking a deep breath. He plunged down deeper and deeper until his ears popped and he saw the mouth of the cave. Propelling himself forward, he swam in and found a huge cave system carved into the side of the cliff. He floated to the surface and peered around the giant cave. Sure enough, there was a stone door cleverly concealed at the end of the cave's giant room.

Wally stepped out of the water and was greeted by a blast of cool air. Zatanna soon appeared after him.

"Whoa."

"Yea."

Zatanna floated forward, toward the stone door, Wally slowly following her.

"Wow, this cave must have taken at least a few millennia to form," he muttered in awe, gazing up at the ceiling. "Those stalactites at least half that time, if not more. These rocks are either primarily gypsum or—"

"Hate to interrupt your science-y talk, but I think we have a problem, Wally."

"Huh?" He walked over. "What's wrong?"

Zatanna rolled her eyes. "Um, the door is closed?" she stated in an 'and you didn't notice that?' tone. "You know, if you couldn't tell."

"Of course I could tell, I just thought there was something seriousy wrong," he argued. "Why can't you just bippity boppity boo and poof the door open?"

"First off, that's only in Cinderella. Not real life. Secondly, you don't think I tried while you were geeking out about the underwater cave and gypsum and stalagmites?"

"Stalactites, actually," Wally corrected. "Stalagmites jut out from the ground while stalactites form from the ceiling."

"Look, the point is, last time a door wouldn't open, a crazy demon appeared. What do you think will happen this—?"

She was cut off by a loud rumble as the water behind them started to bubble menacingly. A humanoid figure stepped out of the water, except it wasn't exactly _human_. The thing was huge and towering with scaly green skin and the feet and head of a vicious crocodile. Its eyes glowed a disgusting, dull gold with black slits and its teeth were a dentist's worst nightmare— sharp as knives and yellow as old bones with a revolting breath to match. Its hands were huge and scaly, perfect for grabbing and not letting go.

"Now would be a good time for some bippity boppity boo," Zatanna squeaked. The monster roared at the top of its lungs— a deep, terrifying sound that shook the cave and caused some dust to fall from the ceiling— and the magician faded away into air, leaving Wally by himself.

"Thanks for helping, Tanna," he muttered as the beast approached him. It was about thirteen feet tall, which was a little over double his height. His brain was probably moving at the speed of light, thinking of ways to knock down his opponent and plans that put into action to defeat the ugly-ass monster.

It's torso looked vaguely human, so maybe he could use what Black Canary taught him and go for the kidneys or solar plexus. When fighting a bigger, stronger opponent, staying light on your feet is key— and Wally was an expert at that.

The crodile-human hybrid charged at Wally— a thunderous, somewhat clumsy charge that was overall slow, but with huge steps. Wally zoomed around behind it and performed a perfect turning side kick (Robin would be pretty whelmed) at its kidney, causing it to growl in pain. The monster whirled around to face Wally, gold eyes blazing murderously with rage.

Its mouth snapped open to bite the speedster, and he barely had time to dash away— his jacket sleeve getting ripped off by the monster's jagged teeth. Wally grabbed a shape rock from the ground and threw it at the monster as hard as he could. It hit one of its gold eyes with a howl of pain, and the monster turned toward Wally and lunged blindly atthe speedster.

The two tumbled into the water as Wally swallowed one last breath. The monster thrashed violently and it was all Wally could do to avoid getting hit. He kicked away from it and clambered up again into the air in the cave, gasping for air.

It soon realized that its prey was no longer in the water and clambered out, roaring at Wally menacingly. He picked up another rock and hurled it as hard as he could at the monster's open mouth. It knocked a few teeth out, and blood began to drip from it's fresh wound. Wally was barely able to dash out of the way as it lunged at him again.

It was like an ongoing cycle: Wally would throw a rock at it, it would charge at him, Wally would dash out of the way (and occasionally get a scratch or bruise), and the cycle would start again.

As it came at him for the nth time, Wally was getting a bit tired. He sped to the side but tripped and flew into a wall with a gasp of pain. The monster reared on him with a maniacal looking grin (if it could be called that) and eyes shining with bloodlust.

Wally stumbled up, but it was too late and he was tackled back against the wall. He yelped, feeling a sharp burst of pain in his chest— _probably a bruised rib, maybe even broken_, he thought bitterly— and tried to get back up as the monster backpedaled, preparing to tackle him again.

"Zatanna," he groaned, "Where are you?" She appeared next to him.

"Wally, are you okay?" was the first thing that tumbled out of her mouth. He quickly shook his head.

"Help?" he mumbled, swallowing the cry of pain that threatened to explode from his mouth.

Zatanna turned to see the crazy crocodile hybrid clumsily charging at them.

"_Pirt!_" she exclaimed, and the monster fell right there, skidding to the ground in a flurry of scales and limbs. She turned back to Wally. "_Laeh,_" she muttered, eyes squeezed shut in concentration. The red head could feel his bones start to repair themselves much faster than his accelerated healing could ever do. Zatanna, meanwhile, was looking rather fatigued— probably from overexertion.

She looked about ready to cast another spell at the monster when Wally stopped her, feeling better already.

"You look tired; no need to over exert yourself anymore," he said with a reassuring smile. He pulled the staff-necklace out from under his shirt. "What was it again?" he asked.

"Ezimixam," she muttered. Wally repeated the chant and the staff grew to a full three feet in his hand. (He tried not to look too startled or surprised by the fact that he just did _magic_, either. After all, this _could_ be all just a dream.) All the sudden, the monster roared and prepared to charge Wally once again.

"I got it from here, Tanna," the red head reassured her determinedly. She nodded and faded away into the air once more.

"_Pirt!_" he exclaimed, repeating Zatanna from earlier. The monster tripped once again, and this time was much more enraged by the fact, roaring murderously. It clambered up and began to walk towards Wally, looking ready to claw his eyes out.

Wally looked at the staff in his hand. "Can you turn into a weapon for me, by any chance?" he asked it hopefully. Nothing happened. Sighing, the speedster adjusted it in his hands like a baseball bat. "Let's see what'll break first," he addressed the monster. "You, or my little friend here." The monster roared as if accepting the challenge and charged forward.

Wally sped around it and slammed it in the side with his makeshift bat, hearing a satisfying crack— hopefully from the monster and not his only weapon. The monster howled in pain and swatted Wally aside. Wally skidded along the floor with a few scrapes, but was otherwise okay. He waited for the monster to try and tackle him again, pretending to play hurt in an attempt to give it false confidence. It worked and the monster began to run at Wally for the nth time.

He took a deep breath and launchedhimself off a nearby rock, high enough to slam the monster smack in the head with his staff. It fell to the ground with a hollow thud, unconscious, and Wally was jumping up and down celebrating his victory until Zatanna reappeared.

"Don't you think we should go before it wakes up again?" she asked, gesturing to the now open stone doorway.

Wally stopped mid jump.

"Oh yea..."

He and Zatanna walked into the door and through a long hallway as the red head kept on talking about how awesome he was as he beat up that huge monster. He stopped talking when Zatanna said he "would've been screwed to hell and back if she didn't help", though.

When they reached the end of the hallway, a room with a single stone platform stood. On the platform was a sheet of gold-looking metal. Upon closer inspection, the two saw that it was a part of the shattered Helmet of Fate.

Wally grabbed it and a bright light then surrounded the two, transporting them back to the top of the cliff.

"One down, three more to go!" the magician exclaimed. The speedster grinned.

"We'll get this done, beat Klarion's sorry ass, and get you body back in no time!"

* * *

omg that was so long guys.

Happy Halloween to you all! I'd love to hear what you dressed up as in a review, and I'll tell you who I am. Or you could just find the pics on my Tumblr that I'll post sometime this Halloween day (probably after school) XD 


	5. Chapter 5

**Fixations**

I do not own Young Justice.

* * *

**Chapter Summary:** "All this time we've been together and you helping me and me thinking you actually accepted my belief in magic— it was all because you thought this was a dream? Jeez, how stupid could I be to believe that you, Wally _Science_ West actually believed in magic!"  
**Warnings:** Strong Language  
**Characters/Pairing(s): **Wally, Zatanna, slight Wally/Zatanna

* * *

Wally resisted the urge to throw up as he slipped on his gloves and wrenched the old, rusted metal bars away from the opening.

"You're so lucky you can't smell this, Tanna," he muttered, gagging at the stench. She only scoffed and rolled her eyes fondly at him.

The odd duo was forty feet beneath the surface in front of a large, smelly opening that undoubtedly led to the sewers. The smell was bad outside the cave's entrance, but as they descended, it only got worse.

It took him only a moment to wrench the rusted bars free, being careful not to slip into the disgusting liquid at his feet. He was thankful it was only an inch deep, otherwise his shoes wouldn't live to see another day. But the speedster would probably burn them when this whole ordeal was done anyway.

Wally carefully took off his gloves and replaced them in his pack. It was dark inside the sewer, and Wally extended a hand out to make sure he didn't collide with a wall.

"Shit!" he swore, sharply retracting his hand. "What the hell is on these walls?" His hand was coated in a pale green slime that had the consistency of mayonnaise, making the speedster actually feel like he would vomit right there.

"That looks revolting!" Zatanna exclaimed, backing away from the dirty hand.

Wally flicked the substance off and gingerly wiped the rest onto his pant leg before slipping his gloves back on.

"Remind me to keep my gloves on in dark, smelly places."

"You'd think I wouldn't have to remind you after _that_ disgusting incident," she replied with, cringing at the memory.

The pair continued down the tunnel, the speedster's footsteps sloshing and thudding and echoing off the slime covered walls. Soon, torches began to appear on the walls, lighting up the way with a an ethereal glow and making the slime seem almost luminescent.

A few more minutes worth of walking and they reached yet another large, brightly lit chamber. The pair walked across the room to the door, which had a riddle inscribed on it.

_"The more you have of it, the less you see,"_ Zatanna read aloud.

"Aw, come on," Wally groaned, rolling his eyes. "This is too easy." He took his staff out— "How do you make it expand again?" he asked, and Zatanna replied with a roll of her eyes and a small scolding— and scratched the word "_darkness_" onto the empty dirt space at the foot of the door.

As soon as he had written the answer, all of the torches went out, and the red head heard Zatanna exclaim in surprise. All of a sudden, he heard a disgusting, gut wrenching, squishing noise— like the sound a boot makes when stepping into a puddle of fresh mud. It was like an army decided to march down the sewer tunnel and conduct the world's most revolting-sounding orchestra. And then, it stopped.

Wally swallowed nervously and heard his companion whisper something to him.

"Something tells me something bad is going to happen."

"Yea, just like the last two times," he deadpanned.

More squishing footsteps sounded.

"Tanna, can light the room up again?"

"I think you should try this time; I've been feeling unusually drained recently."

The squishing sound grew louder.

"Tanna? Come on, man— please?"

She didn't reply.

"Zatanna?"

"Wally, dive to the left!" she exclaimed suddenly. Wally was confused for a millisecond, but then did as the magician said and dived to the side as a loud squishing sound erupted from right where he had just stood— like something wet and gooey had just collided into the wall. Carefully, Wally used his staff to feel where he was going and silently back away from the location.

_Someone must be throwing slime at me. But how could they possibly see when it's this dark? _ His mind contemplated all the possibilities until it stopped dead on one. _Wait. Someone isn't throwing slime,_ he realized, _The slime is throwing itself. Maybe... It's alive!_

The footsteps grew louder and Wally moved as fast as he could away from it, hearing the slime collide with the wall near his previous location. He kept on walking but suddenly slipped on a gooey patch of slime, landing on his butt with a thud. _That might bruise later,_ he thought bitterly.

"Some light would he nice, Zatanna?" he called out into the darkness. There was no reply, and he sighed huffily. Again, the footsteps neared him, and he cautiously moved away. This time, he walked a bit slower, though, to avoid tripping. But this proved to be a mistake because the slime monster charged him once more and was able to hit him on the side; Wally fell to the ground, his left side covered in the odorous, green substance.

_Ugh, what was that spell again?_ he thought to himself as he stood up. He paused to search for the right word, hoping the monster wouldn't find him just yet. But the footsteps grew faster and louder, and Wally panicked.

"Um... _Et-ani-mulli_!" he exclaimed hesitantly. All the torches in the room suddenly sparked to life and the slime monster was revealed, slowly trudging toward Wally.

It was ugly.

Eight feet tall and somewhat resembling a horribly misshapen bear— if the bear had stubby limbs and a small head that barely rose above its shoulders—, the thing was by far the ugliest thing Wally had ever seen; it was even worse than the crocodile-human hybrid he encountered earlier. Where its face should be were two indents for eyes and a hole where it's mouth would be, strings of slime between the top and bottom forming horrible teeth— if they could really be called that.

As soon as it came within five feet of Wally, it would jump at him impossibly fast for something of its size and Wally had to speed out off the way just to avoid it.

To test a theory, the speedster picked up a smal rock and threw it as hard as he could at the monster. It lodged two inches into its body, and sunk in deeper as the monster seemed to actually absorb it. The slimy beast did not even notice.

_So much for whacking it with my staff, _ the speedster complained to himself. After his third time dodging another attack, Zatanna reappeared.

"You should freeze it," she advised him simply. "Then you can actually land a hit and shatter it."

Wally jumped out of the way as the beast lobbed a huge ball of slime at him.

"A bit busy now; apparently this thing learned how to throw," he grunted, ducking underneath another gooey projectile aimed toward his head. "I'll distract it if you want to try that, Tanna." Another projectile flew past Wally, narrowly missing his head by a few inches. With a nod she disappeared from view.

"Is that the best you got?" Wally taunted the beast, jumping over a low flying shot. As if responding, the beast shot two slime balls at the red head, who felt like he was in that scene from the Matrix as he bent backwards to avoid them.

Zatanna then appeared by the beast. "Wally, go!" she exclaimed, and then cast the freezing spell. The speedster sped forward with his staff ready and hit the frozen slime monster right in its center. The outer layer of icy slime shattered, but a smaller version of the beast was still intact underneath.

"_Ezeerf!_" Zatanna yelled again, surprised that her spell didn't exactly have the desired effect. Wally hit it once more, and the same thing happened. The monster had only lost a few inches and was still as menacing as ever.

"_Ezeerf!_" And the monster froze again.

"Damn, why won't you die!" Wally exclaimed as he shattered it for the third time. Zatanna sighed.

"E—_Ezeerf_," she repeated, starting to look dangerously tired. Wally didn't notice, too busy trying to finish off the slime monster.

Once more, the magician chanted, "_Ezeerf,_" and the monster froze. "I— I'm too tired. Can't do this anymore," she murmured. "Finish 'im off, Wally, alright?" Wally spared a quick glance at her as she fainted from exhaustion and faded from view before her ghostly form could hit the ground.

"Tanna!" he exclaimed, but she was already gone. He was silent for a small moment, but then he took a deep breath and collected himself. "I'll finish this bitch off for you, Tanna. You can count on it."

He slammed the staff against the frozen slime and shards of green fell off with a sharp crash. The monster had lost a lot of mass— what used to be a slimy, eight feet beast was now shorter than Wally at five feet, but gaining speed as it loss weight.

_Okay, _ the speedster thought to himself, reviewing Zatanna's spell in his head. _You can do this. You're the Wall-man; this is your dream. You can do anything._

He sidestepped a charging ball of slime and pointed his staff at it. "_Ezeerf!_" he yelled, and was admittedly quite surprised when the monster became incased in a thick layer of ice.

Gripping his staff tightly, he swung at the monster and shielded eyes as the shards of ice flew everywhere. The cycle repeated itself a few more times, until the monster began to learn better and charged at the speedster as soon as he smashed its ice cage. Wally narrowly jumped out of the way as the monster immediately charged at him and froze it one last time. He kicked it right in the center, and it toppled over, shattering— finally— into a pile of shards, melting slowly onto the ground.

Wally saw the door open at the other end of the room, but turned away and scanned the room, looking for Zatanna first. There was no sign of her. "Tanna?" he called out. "Where are you?"

She appeared beside him, but she still looked very tired. "You look like shit," he said, the comment sounding more concerned than derogatory. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," she replied. "I don't think I should be trying to cast any spells anytime soon, though. Sorry, Wally. You're on your own for now."

He nodded. "Well, let's just keep going then." She floated after him as he walked down the tunnel to the room that contained yet another fragment of the Helmet. As soon as he touched it, the two teens were transported directly up and out of the underground sewers. They landed atop a big, grassy hill with a great twisted oak and a perfect view of the horizon.

Wally stuffed the Helmet piece into his backpack. "Two more to go, and then we're done!" he said, grinning proudly. Zatanna smiled back tiredly, and Wally's grin transformed into a look of concern.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Zatanna nodded. "Don't worry, Wally; I'm fine, she repeated in a placating tone. "Just no magic from me for a while, is all."

Wally still looked worried, but nodded nonetheless. "I'm sure nothing_ too _bad'll happen anytime soon," he said reassuringly. And then— as if the universe loved proving the speedster wrong— a loud bird-like caw was heard and a giant griffin the size of a minivan swooped down on the duo.

Wally swore. "There is no end to the possibilities of proving me wrong, is there?" he grumbled bitterly. Zatanna swooped out of the way as the bird dived at Wally. He rolled out of the way and jumped on the birds back as it flew back up. It jerked around sparodically, trying to knock him off. Wally was able to land a few punches to disorientate the bird so he could jump off smoothly before he was violently throw off. He stood before the large oak, waiting for the bird to dive at him again. It did, and as soon as it was within a few feet from him, he sped out of the way, causing the bird to slam into the tree.

The bird reared back, squawking angrily at the redhead, who waved his staff challengingly at it. The bird seemed to accept the challenge and dove at Wally with a newfound speed. He jumped out of the way, but the birds wing clipped him on the side and sent him careening to the ground. With a loud thud, Wally collided with the ground, staff tossed to the side. He rolled over just in time to avoid being stabbed by a wickedly sharp beak. Wally rolled over to his staff and grabbed it, leaping back to his feet and away from the bird's pointy beak.

It turned around and squacked at him furiously, slashing its talons at the red head. Wally stepped back avoid them, but the bird was now a flurry of sharp talons and a beak, and he couldn't quite get close without getting cut. Wally took a deep breath.

"Just a dream; I have nothing to lose," Wally mumbled to himself as he dodged a razor sharp claw aimed at his head. He rolled underneath the bird and smacked it from behind with his staff, causing it to shriek in pain. It reared on him and slashed him across the chest, leaving a superficial scratch as blood seeped through his shirt. He winced, holding back a cry of pain to keep on fighting.

He inhaled deeply and jumped in front of the bird. He pointed his staff at it and yelled, "_Ezeerf!_", eyes slammed shut in anticipation. His eyes opened to the sight of a frozen bird, and he quickly delivered a harsh kick to its head, causing it to shatter into a million fragments of ice. "Hah! My dream, my rules!" he yelled at the dead bird, fist pumping at his victory. "Who's laughing now!" Zatanna floated back his side after the bird was gone.

"Just... a dream?" she echoed hollowly, staring at him with hollow eyes. Wally's grin of triumph immediately faded. He didn't know what to say.

"Just a dream?" she repeated a bit louder— angrier— with fists clenched tightly. Wally stepped back, surprised by the outburst.

"Is that all I am to you?" she demanded fiercely, eyes blazing with fury. "A figment of your dreams? Are you helping me only because you think you've got nothing to lose? Because this is a damn _dream__?"_

She's hysterical and Wally can see that she's also on the brink of tears.

"All this time we've been together and you helping me and me thinking you actually accepted my belief in magic— it was all because you thought this was a dream? Jeez, how stupid could I be to believe that _you_, Wally _Science_ West actually believed in magic! Of course it's a dream to you— because magic isn't real. This whole journey isn't real. Hell, even _we_ aren't real, are we Wally?"

Tears— hot, angry, _hurt_ tears— just flow freely down the girl's face and the speedster is silent for a moment before trying to reply. "Tanna, I—"

Zatanna held up a hand, cutting him off. "Don't talk to me," she hissed. And then she disappeared because as a spirit, she can do that.

Wally dropped down and sat against the tree— yelling, growling, beating himself up and tugging furiously at his hair. _How could I have been so _ stupid_? So damn oblivious!_ he thought to himself, staring moodily out at the horizon. Over and over in his head, he called himself stupid and careless, and kept on trying to think of what to say to apologize to the magician.

After a long, empty slot of time filled with sitting and reflecting, Wally finally worked up the nerve to confront Zatanna. He scanned the perimeter, checked up the tree and behind it, but the magician was nowhere to be found. The speedster considered just letting her be, but after a brief argument with himself, decided not to.

He took out his staff once more, carefully assembling the right words in his head. "Laever annataZ," he whispered. Her ghostly form shimmered into view sitting on the other side of the wide tree, and he approached her cautiously.

"Zatanna," he blurted out before he could stop himself, causing her to whirl around in surprise. "I was wrong."

He just continued on, not giving her a chance to speak. "Whether this is real life or just a dream, I would've helped you no matter what. I'm a hero and I won't ever _not_ help— it's my duty. No matter what, I would've risked my _life_ to save you, alright? Hell, even if I wasn't a hero, I'd still help! You're my _friend_, Tanna. I'm sorry," he finished, looking down at his feet.

There was a brief silence as she just stared at him, silently.

"I understand if you don't—"

"Wally," she croaked, voice still a bit hoarse from the screaming she did earlier, "I forgive you. I... I shouldn't have blown up, either. There's just so much going on, and... To be honest, I'm kind of wishing this is a dream, myself." She sighed tiredly. Wally looked at her and could see the fatigue in her eyes, all over her face. Using magic never seemed to drain her so much before, but now, she looked like she hadn't slept since Malfin stole her body. Could she even sleep, or has she just been sitting and absently wondering how this whole ordeal would turn out as he slept soundly— unaware of her discontent? She must be exhausted... Wally was jarred from his thoughts as Zatanna spoke again.

"You know, I'm actually kind of surprised how traught you're acting about all of this, mister man of science," she added in a rather lifeless attempt to sound humorous.

The red head just sighed. "Part of me is still yelling at myself that this is a dream," he admitted.

"Well, is it?"

Wally frowned and stared off into the sunset— its colors glowing red, pink, orange and a million others as it slowly sunk under the horizon.

"Isn't that the question?" he replied quietly. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Fixations**

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! :)

I do not own Young Justice.

* * *

**Chapter Summary:** "I've always wanted to go to Disneyworld. Maybe if I get my body back..." she sighed wistfully. "Not if you get your body back," Wally interrupted, "_When_. And I'll make sure I'm the one who takes you."  
**Warnings:** Minor language  
**Characters/Pairing(s): **Abra Kadabra (the fail magician), Wally, Zatanna, slight Wally/Zatanna

* * *

"Florida. Jeez, I hope we aren't going to a swamp."

"Why? Afraid that a crocodile will try and attack you again? Or maybe some green moss will try and eat you!"

"Gee, your belief in me is overwhelming."

"Your sarcasm is pretty underwhelming. Not whelming at all

"You too, Tanna? I swear— you and Robin always seem to want to wage war on prefixes or something."

"That is not true," Zatanna argued, exclaiming melodramatically. "You forgot those damn suffixes, too!"

Wally chuckled at her quip as he stared at the map in his hand, leading them somewhere towards the wilder side of the Floridian county. They passed a giant billboard advertising a trip to Disneyworld just a few towns over, and Zatanna gazed at it wistfully.

"I've always wanted to go to Disneyworld," she commented in what sounded to the speedster like forced nonchalance.

Wally took a moment to look up from the map. "You've never been?" he asked, eyebrows raised almost comically. The magician shook her head.

"It looks so bright and fun, though."

The speedster was quiet for a moment. "I'll take you," he offered finally. "When this is all over, I'll take you to Disneyworld."

"A—are you serious?" she stuttered, eyes wide like a child's when in a candy store.

"Of course! In fact, I _promise_ I will, and if I don't, you have my permission to magic my ass off."

Zatanna smiled. "I'll look forward to that."

Grinning back, he motioned for them to keep on moving. As they walked, his eyes occasionally darted over to Zatanna, still with a content smile on her face— no doubt the most relaxed he'd seen her since the incident.

He fixed his eyes on the map, guiding them forward until civilization faded away and off the road, leading the pair into the wilderness— a dense and humid cross between a forest and a swamp, much to Wally's chagrin.

"I guess this is it," he sighed, trudging forward and into the musty darkness.

* * *

Wally's not saying that he ran into a tree. Because he definitely did not. He wasn't too preoccupied staring at the map in his hands, turning it upside down and down-side up to try and make sense of it, either. And if he was doing just that, it definitely wasn't the reason why he fell right through said tree's trunk and landed in a muddy underground room with a thud.

In fact, he was navigating the twisted and dark swamp with an air of expertise when suddenly his map led him to a grand tree. Sensing that something was not right, he examined the tree and found it's trunk to be just a mirage. He then proceeded to carefully and professionally climb down the hidden tube and found himself where he was now— a muddy underground room. And that's what really happened.

Wally peeled himself up off the mud with a groan.

"I can't believe you ran into a tree," Zatanna deadpanned from her position beside him.

"I totally planned that," he said, grimacing at the mud now plastered all over his clothes. Zatanna nodded absently and floated over to the dark hallway at the end of the room.

"So many dark and foreboding hallways," she sighed. "Wally, I'd best prepare yourself because there's no doubt _another_ monster thirsting for your blood past here." The red head followed the spirit as she floated in ahead of him.

"Wouldn't be surprised."

They reached the end of the hallway and found a brightly lit room. That was rather odd, though, because there were no torches, windows, or holes for sunlight to peek through anywhere in sight The Helmet piece was there, right in the dead center of the otherwise empty room.

"This doesn't feel right," Zatanna said, worry evident in her voice as her eyes darted left and right and all around the room. Wally walked cautiously toward the Helmet piece, eyes mimicking Zatanna's, waiting for something— anything— to go wrong.

But it didn't.

The red head found himself right in front of the Helmet piece, still in one not-bleeding and unscathed piece. He slowly reached out a hand to grasp the piece, but all he got was a handful of air.

Eyes widened in bewilderment, he swiped violently at the item, but his hand went right through it again and again.

"It— it's... fake?" he stuttered, his face a mix between confused and angry. "Ugh, no wonder why it was so unnaturally quiet in here!" he exclaimed, anger slowly taking over. "All this stupid mud and dirt for _nothing_!"

"What are we going to do now? We need all four pieces of the Helmet— I'm pretty sure just the two we have isn't going to cut it."

Wally opened his mouth to reply, but was stopped short when something cold, hard, and heavy collided with the back of his head. The last thing he heard was a feminine gasp as Zatanna tried to send a weak attack spell at his attacker before he fell to the ground and blacked out.

* * *

Wally woke up chained to a chair. It wasn't a nice chair, either. It was one of those uncomfortable fold-out chairs that felt like it would collapse beneath you at any given second. And it creaked a lot. The chains that bound him were bulky and and cold, cutting into his wrists and sure to leave marks. He could feel the two giant padlocks holding them in place behind him and tried hard to think back on Robin's mini lesson on picking locks. As he did so, his eyes scanned his surroundings discreetly. He was still in an underground room. Perhaps another part of this magical swamp. A large figure was standing before him, rummaging through his precious backpack.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" he demanded. The figure turned around, a fragment of the Helmet in each of his hands.

"I believe the question is," Abra Kadabra replied, "what are _you_ doing with these pieces of the Helmet of Fate?" He had a long cut stretching down his chest, no doubt from Zatanna's attack spell.

"That's none of your business. Now give them back, and let me go!" As he yelled at the phony magician, Wally's fingers reached for the hidden lock pick Robin had rigged his watch to hold. As soon as it was out, the redhead struggled to pick himself free, trying to be as discreet as possible.

"You are a funny one," the man bellowed condescendingly. "But I have no intention to let you go or return theses Helmet fragments." Wally watched as he took the third Helmet fragment out of the folds of his costume. Abra Kadabra observed Wally's wide-eyed expression with a smirk. "You like the trap I set for you, little hero?"

"You're the one that took the Helmet piece!" Wally yelled loudly to hide the click of the lock as he finished with it. "No wonder why it was so quiet in the cave." He silently started picking at the second lock.

"Ah yes, the tree monsters were quite a bother, but I was able to dispose of them and retrieve the Helmet piece. Now tell me, where is the fourth piece?"

Wally's mind instantly drifted to the map he hid in his backpack. Apparently Abra Kadabra hadn't found it yet.

"I don't know," Wally replied flippantly, causing the phony magician to scowl.

Abra Kadabra grabbed Wally by the chin roughly, squeezing his cheeks so hard it started to hurt. "Tell me the truth, little hero. I doubt you wandered upon these other two Helmet pieces by accident. You must have a guide or a map of sorts."

Wally flashed him a challenging look, but it looked quite comical with his cheeks squashed in. "I don't need a map," he mumbled defiantly, "I'm Kid Flash." And with that, the second lock clicked open (two and a half minutes apiece! Robin would be disappointed) and Wally sent a brutal right hook right at Abra Kadabra's face. The man stumbled back a few strides, giving Wally sufficient time to shake free of the rest of his bonds. He dashed straight at Abra Kadabra, kicking him straight up the chin and using that as a distraction to grab the Helmet fragments out of his hand. Wally shoved the fragments into his backpack and dashed off.

He only made it to doorway when something slid over his head and around his neck, pulling him violently to a stop. A shock ran through the line and Wally screamed, dropping to his knees. He could have sworn he heard someone call his name, but only his ragged breaths and the deep thudding of his heart filled his ears after that.

"Stupid little hero. You cannot escape Abra Kadabra!" the phony magician exclaimed, pulling Wally up to his feet. Wally made no move to resist, still recovering from the shock he had just received. Abra Kadabra grabbed his backpack and yanked it off of his shoulders, not caring at all when the left strap ripped.

"No," Wally moaned, still blinking away spots. "Give tha' back." The villain paid no heed to the fallen hero as he rummaged again through the backpack. The phony magician pulled out the Helmet pieces and one more thing.

"Ah, what is this?" he said, unfolding the map. "Is _this _how you found the Helmet pieces, little hero?" Wally didn't answer, because at that very moment, Zatanna had swooped in through the doorway. Abra Kadabra didn't notice her. Glancing at Wally and then at the phony magician, she frowned.

Closing her eyes, she muttered, "_Esaeler yllaW._" and Wally saw her wince visibly, the spell obviously draining her a lot as her breathing deepened. Wally was about to tell her to stop because she might over exert herself again, but she had already muttered the words and Abra Kadabra was thrown across the room. She nodded at Wally once, gesturing to his staff before exhaling shakily and fading from view.

Abra Kadabra was stumbling up as Wally took out his staff ("_Ezimixam!_") and blasted him into the wall again. _'Zatanna would be proud of me,'_ he thought absently as he remembered his incantations with little or no trouble.

The phony magician still had Wally's things, though, so the speedster wasn't done just yet. Abra Kadabra sent another electrically charged line at Wally, and the speedter had just enough time to raise the staff in front of himself and yell, "_Kcolb!_". Wally's eyes widened in awe as he watched a translucent wall form in front of him, causing the electricity to stop and split into five outgoing segments as it slammed into the wall. It looked like a star.

The speedster quickly snapped out of his trance, mind racing as he looked for a point of attack or a window of opportunity.

Zatanna was still gone, but he forced the thought from his mind lest he become distracted, and quickly formed the right words in his head.

Abra Kadabra was charging at Wally when the speedster yelled, "_Pots!_" and the phony magician froze in his tracks, looking dazed. Wally dashed over and grabbed his belongings before delivering an agile hook kick to the man's head. Abra Kadabra was knocked to the ground with a thud and another swift hit to the head rendered him unconscious.

Wally was halfway to the door when he decided he'd chain Abra Kadabra to the chair just as the man had done to him earlier. A few minutes later, the speedter was dashing through the underground rooms until he found himself, once again, in the room where Abra Kadabra had fount him.

The first thing he did was look for Zatanna. "Tanna?" he called, hearing his voice echo down various different hallways. She didn't appear though. "Zatanna, where are you?" Only silence greeted him. Frowning, Wally decided to wait for a minute, double checking his belongings as he did so. Everything was in place, and he slung it around his back once more.

"Zatanna? Dude, where are you!" Wally yelled much louder than before. When he heard footsteps coming in from the hallway to his left he was relieved, but then he realized Zatanna wouldn't— couldn't make footsteps as a spirit. The red head whirled around and found himself face to face with an unsightly trio of walking trees. Those must have been the ones Abra Kadabra had mentioned.

"Are you kidding me?" the speedster swore. Apparently no one was kidding him because the three trees just kept marching towards him ominously. One sent a twig flying at him, and it hit wally in the chest with about as much force as a paper airplane.

He groaned. "If you are kidding, this is the worst joke ever," he muttered, running at the trees, incantations already forming in his mind. Wally was caught unguarded when one of the tree's branches lashed out faster than he thought possible and clubbed him on the head. He landed hard on his back and the trees surrounded them.

His nose was bleeding and his mouth stung with the metallic taste of blood, but Wally could already feel his fast metabolism stopping the blood flow. The redhead spit out a bit of blood and glared at the tree that had hit him.

"_Er'uoy tsaot_."

Wally expected the tree to burst into flames, but instead there was a puff of smoke and a piece of perfectly browned toast lay in its place. There was no time to react to the spell's odd result though because he narrowly avoided being crushed right there by a giant root. Wally rolled away and into a standing position, foot right on top of the poor slice of toast. The first tree swung at him, managing to scratch his cheek slightly, but Wally dashed out of the way of the second tree's murderous branches.

He pointed pointed his staff at a tree and the short incantation came naturally. "_Ezeerf!_" Like a batter to a baseball, Wally swung his staff and hit the tree, causing it to shatter into hundreds of tiny shards. The last tree seemed rather miffed by its comrades' deaths and swung its branches at the speedster violently.

Using his free arm, Wally shielded his face and backpedaled rapidly from the attacking tree. He winced as the sharp branches scraped cuts across his arm. The tree didn't seem to slow down, making it harder for Wally to concentrate and form the right spells. The cuts on his arm stung and he could feel himself healing as the tree cut more; it was a bit disorientating.

"_E—ezeerf_," Wally blurted out, stumbling a bit over the words. The tree froze right there, its frozen branches still digging into Wally's skin. He peeled his arm carefully away from the sharp edges; small droplets of blood flowed from each cut, but they were starting to close as the redhead looked upon them. Rude thoughts toward the tree sped cluttered his mind as he smashed it into microscopic shards.

When Wally had finished off the trees, he turned to his left, looking for his companion. She still wasn't there, though.

"Zatanna?"

No answer.

"You're starting to worry me. Zatanna?"

He looked left and right and behind him. He scanned the room a few times over and then waited a minute in silence (although it felt like a lot longer to the hyperactive speedster). A few seconds passed and Wally saw some movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned around and saw Zatanna floating beside him.

"Tanna!" he exclaimed, taking a step forward to hug her. The realization that he couldn't hug the magician hit him like a lightning bolt before he could try though, and he passed it off as jogging toward the room's exit. "Come on; let's go!"

Zatanna floated after Wally, down the hallway they had entered through earlier. It was not soon before they reached the tunnel leading up. The only problem was: there was no visible way to actually get back up.

Zatanna was already gliding toward the top when Wally shouted up at her, "Tanna, you know I can't fly, right?"

She peered down at him expecantly. "Cast a spell, silly!" she said as if it was the simplest thing in the world, which maybe it was (for her).

"Yea, a spell," Wally repeated, trying not to sound too clueless. "Of course."

Zatanna sighed and rolled her eyes fondly. "Repeat after me: Teg em tuo fo ereh."

Wally nodded and repeated the incantation. As soon as he did, his feet left the ground and he started to float upwards. His eyes widened comically as he flailed his limbs about.

"Whoa, this is not natural!" he yelled, pushing himself away from the walls of the tunnel before he crashed into the head-on. He zoomed past Zatanna and hit the top of the tunnel with a thud.

Zatanna failed to stifle a giggle at his obnoxiously loud exclamation of pain and the two of them exited out of the tunnel, through the fake tree's holographic bark. Zatanna gracefully floated in the air upon exiting the tree, while Wally just tumbled out and nearly tripped into a puddle of mud.

"I am _never_ doing that again. See, this is why I run! Speedsters don't fly," he muttered angrily to himself.

Zatanna laughed lightly at his antics. "Hey, we're out, we have three pieces of the Helmet, and we're alive. Lighten up, Mr. Science." She floated out of the swamp and back into dry land, Wally trudging behind her. They had been underground for a while; it was beginning to get dark out. Almost against his own will, Wally yawned.

"You tired?" the magician questioned.

Wally shook his head. "Barely. I'll be fine," he replied dismissively, stopping to fish the map and an energy bar out of his backpack. "Besides, we should probably find a way to get to... Snow Fields, Oklahoma?" He squinted at the map under the dull moon's light. "Never heard of that place before."

"How about you get some rest first, then we'll worry about it. It's night time; no one's out, Wally."

The red head looked up from his map; Zatanna was right. The street he was walking along was empty. Streetlights flickered weakly in the park across the street. He sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"I guess we can think more on it tomorrow," he agreed. "I'll just... camp out beneath a tree."

Zatanna followed him as he dropped himself beneath a giant oak in the park and closed his eyes. He started snoring a few minutes later, and the magician felt a tiny smile curl up onto her face.

* * *

OHMYGOSH SORRY THAT TOOK SO LONG NSCJKS;NDC HOW DO YOU END UGH

Merry Christmas to everyone, and I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter!


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